Meryl Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family.

In this faux docu-reimagining of the mass emigration through America's Ellis Island at the turn of the century, a young immigrant leaves the Old Country and ventures to America to compete in the annual Miss Ellis Island Beauty Pageant in the hopes of winning a wealthy American husband and gaining acceptance in the golden land of opportunity.